The History of Flat Earth

West Asia

Flat Earth belief is all around the world since ancient history. In West Asia, early Egyptians thought the Earth was a disk floating in the ocean.

Some ancient people believed the sky was a solid dome with the Sun, Moon, Planets and starts.

East Asia

In ancient China, people believed the Earth was flat and square. However, the model of an egg was used by Chinese astronomers to describe heaven as round.

The Ancient Chinese believed the Earth was always flat and the form of the world remained unchanged from early times until modern science in the seventeenth century.

The Heavens were described as an umbrella or a sphere covering the Earth.

Flat Earth Theory

Is the earth flat or round? It’s 2019, but some people still think this is a debatable issue. The Flat Earth Theory was derived from the Bedford Level Experiment. It’s an experiment observed along a six-mile length Old Bedford River in the UK duriing the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The purpose of the experiment is to measure the curvature of the Earth. Samuel Birley Rowbotham, the founder of The Flat Earth Society conducted the first observations and claimed the Earth is flat. He used a telescope that stood eight inches above the water to watch a boat moving along the river. He said the boat remained at the same level for six miles; therefore, the Earth is flat.

However, Alfred Russel Wallace adjusted Rowbotham’s method to avoid the effects of atmospheric refraction, and found a curvature that is consistent with a round Earth.

In Canada, Flat Earth Society was established in 1970 by philosopher Leo Ferrari. They claim to be different from other flat-earthers. They distrust the new technologies. They think people accept the scientific theories “on blind faith and to reject the evidence of their own senses.”

Modern flat-earthers distrust major institutions such as governments, media, school, scientists and airlines that claim the world is round.

On Augest 21. 2017, videos about the solar eclipse were made on YouTube showing people the details of the eclipse and claiming the Earth is flat.

Google trends for Flat Earth

Interest over time

Numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means there was not enough data for this term.

INTERESTS BY REGION
United states
Canada

Mak Focker

Mak Focker is a free thinker, entrepreneur and a family man.

Mak has been the leader of Flat Earth Vancouver for about a year, where he hosts monthly meetings at the ABC Country restaurant in Coquitlam.

He regularly goes to public places to spread what he calls geocentric truth activism. Mak questions everything about what we’re told from the pharmaceutical industry, to chemtrails, and yes: the shape of the Earth.

Besides all of that, Mak makes time for his wife and daughter. He studied business at Capilano university, and while he’s sparing on the details of his business, he runs a business on the side.

Kurtis Baute

Kurtis Baute is a YouTuber who has his Masters of Science and currently resides in Vancouver, BC.

His YouTube channel is tailored towards science and the environment. An advocate for combating climate change, Kurtis does science experiments that can show the harm humans can inflict on the planet.

His experiments have ranged from biking Regina, Saskatchewan’s highway 33 to show the world is a sphere, sealing himself in a DIY biodome, going 24 hours without touching plastic, and so much more.

Kurtis has been featured on CBC, Global News, The Toronto Star, Regina Leader-Post, and etc.

Kurtis does YouTube full time, and has removed ads on his channel in order to reduce waste in the world.

The documentary came out of a curiosity. Who is Flat Earth Vancouver? What do they believe? Will they defend what they believe against someone who flew to Saskatchewan to bike 140 kilometres to try and prove the curvature of the Earth?

Flatgeist tells the story of Mak, the leader of Flat Earth Vancouver, and Kurtis, a man who is willing to do anything to try and gain evidence for what he knows with testable experiments.